TEORÍA tiempos verbales

FUTURE 

Form of will Future

	positive	negative	question
no differences	I will speak.	I will not speak.	Will I speak?

Use of will Future

• a spontaneous decision
  example: Wait, I will help you.
• an opinion, hope, uncertainty or assumption regarding the future
  example: He will probably come back tomorrow.
• a promise
  example: I will not watch TV tonight.
• an action in the future that cannot be influenced
  example: It will rain tomorrow.
• conditional clauses type I
  example: If I arrive late, I will call you.

Signal Words

• in a year, next …, tomorrow
•  I think, probably, perhaps

Form of going to Future

	positive	negative	question
I	I am going to speak.	I am not going to speak.	Am I going to speak?
you / we / they	You are going to speak.	You are not going to speak.	Are you going to speak?
he / she / it	He is going to speak.	He is not going to speak.	Is he going to speak?

Use of going to Future

• an action in the near future that has already been planned or prepared
  example: I am going to study harder next year.
• a conclusion regarding the immediate future
  example: The sky is absolutely dark. It is going to rain.

Signal Words

• in one year, next week, tomorrow

Use: future simple: will	Use: to be + going to
Instant decision (=when we decide to do something at the time of speaking). I will have a cup of coffee.	Intention (=the speaker has already decided before).I am going to have a cup of coffee.
I will operate my patient again.	I am going to operate my patient.
Prediction (= what we think will happen). He will travel to Ireland.	Prediction based on a present situation (=what we can see is going to happen). He is going to travel to Ireland.
He will hit the ball.	He is going to kick the ball.

Present

Simple present is also called present simple.The simple present expresses an action in the present taking place once, never or several times. It is also used for actions that take place one after another and for actions that are set by a timetable or schedule. The simple present also expresses facts in the present.

Present continuous

Use:
1)           Use the present continuous to talk about actions which are happening now.
           Ellen is having a bath at the moment.
           Right now, Mark is talking to her manager.

Form:
Positive

I	am / ‘m	verb+ing
You	are / ‘re
He / She / It	is / ‘s
We / They	are / ‘re

Negative

I	‘m not	verb+ing
You	aren’t / ‘re not
He / She / It	isn’t / ‘s not
We / They	aren’t / ‘re not

Question

Am	I	verb+ing
Are	you
Is	he / she / it
Are	we / they

Spelling Rules:

If a verb ends in e, delete the e before you add –ing.
come =>           I’m coming.
have  =>           He’s having lunch.

Common mistakes
1)            Some students forget the verb be.
            I watching television.                 =>           I’m watching television.
            She not coming.       =>           She’s not coming.
2)            Some students make questions incorrectly.
            She is working?        =>           Is she working?
3)            Some students make spelling mistakes.
            I’m studing law.   =>           I’m studying law.

Past simple

Use: 
Use the past simple to talk about finished events in the past. Use it to tell stories, jokes and anecdotes.

Form:
1)            Many past tense verbs are formed by adding -ed to the end of the verb.
want      =>           wanted
start       =>           started

If a verb ends in e, just add d (liked, hoped).
If a verb ends in y, delete y and add ied (studied, carried). But don’t do this if the verb ends in avowel + y (played, NOT plaied. stayed, NOT staied)

But a lot of past tense verbs are irregular. You need to learn each one separately. Here are some examples.
have      =>           had                        make     =>           made
take       =>           took                       sit           =>           sat
get         =>           got                         feel        =>           felt

Past simple verbs are the same for all persons.
I went; you went; he went; she went; they went; we went...    

2)            Form negatives this way:

I, you, he , she, we, they...

didn’t

infinitive verb know, see, go

Don’t use the past verb in negative sentences.
I didn’t had dinner.         =>           I didn’t have dinner.

3) Form questions this way:

Did

I, you, he , she, we, they...

infinitive verb know, see, go

Common mistakes:
Some students use the past verb in questions.
Did you saw the film?     =>                           Did you see the film?

Past continuous

Use: 
1) Use the past to ‘set the scene’ of a story before describing what happened.

    ‘It was raining. I was walking in the park. Some kids were playing football nearby. Suddenly…’

2) Use the past continuous to talk about an action which happened for some time in the past and was then interrupted. Use the past simple tense to talk about the interruption.

    I was cooking dinner when suddenly there was a knock at the door.

3) Use the past continuous to talk about events that were in progress at a certain time.

    At 5 o’clock yesterday afternoon, I was driving home from work.

Note the difference in meaning:

When James got home, I cooked dinner:-  I started cooking AFTER he got home.
When James got home, I was cooking dinner: - I started cooking BEFORE he got home.

Form:
Positive

I	was	verb+ing
You	were
He / She / It	was
We / They	were

Negative

I	wasn’t	verb+ing
You	weren’t
He / She / It	wasn’t
We / They	weren’t

Question

Was	I	verb+ing   ?
Were	you
Was	he / she / it
Were	we / they

Spelling Rules:
If a verb ends in e, delete the e before you add –ing.
have   =>I was having lunch.

If a verb ends in one vowel and one consonant, double the consonant (except w and y).
get     =>He was just getting up.
play    =>We were playing.

Common mistakes
1) Some students remember the verb be but forget ‘ing’.
I was watch television.   =>I was watching television.
2) Some students make spelling mistakes.
I was studing.  =>I was studying.

We were eatting   =>We were eating.

Present perfect

Use:       
The present perfect is used for several reasons:
1) Use it to describe events that happened in the past and are still true now because you can see the result.
                I’ve broken my leg!
                David has painted his house.

2) Use it to describe experiences in your life.
                I’ve been to New York three times in my life.

 However, you cannot use the present perfect to describe experiences in someone’s life if that person has died.
                Michael Jackson performed in Britain many times.
                NOT
                Michael Jackson has performed in Britain many times.

3) Use it to describe events that started in the past and are still happening now.
                I’ve lived here all my life (and I live here now).
                John has worked here for 10 years (and he works here now).

Never refer to a finished time with a present perfect verb.

Form:
Make the present perfect in this way.

Positive

I  / you / they / we he / she / it

have / ‘ve has / ‘s

past participle

Examples:           I’ve seen him; they’ve gone; she’s taken my bag.

Negative

I / you / they / we he / she / it

haven’t / ‘ve not hasn’t / ‘s not

past participle

Examples:           I haven’t seen him; they haven’t gone yet; she’s not been here.

Questions

Have Has

you / they / we he / she / it

past participle?

Examples:           Have you seen him? Has she taken my bag?

Common mistakes:
1) Don’t use the present perfect to refer to a finished time.
I’ve hurt my arm yesterday.                        =>           I’ve hurt my arm.              
John’s been to New York last month.     =>           John’s been to New York.